Charles Newell, Artistic Director of Court since 1994, has directed over 30 productions. He and his colleagues are committed to discovering, and rediscovering, the power of classic theatre, and they are also prolific producers of translations and adaptations of classic texts. A recent conversation I had with Charles revealed a lot about the sort of work that excites him, as well as the passion he holds for expanding the canon of this work through initiatives such as the Barbara E. Franke Commissioning Program for New Classics.

Douglas Post: You’ve been with the Court Theatre for fifteen years now. What sort of changes in programming have you put in place since you’ve been here? How has the aesthetic of the theatre shifted? What have you been working towards, and what do you continue to work towards? I realize that’s a lot of questions all at once.

Charles Newell: It is. Let me see if I can be succinct. When I was brought here from Manhattan to be the Associate Artistic Director of this theatre, it was clear to the then- Board leadership and to Nicholas Rudall, the founding Artistic Director, that, after over 20 years of leading this theatre, what Nick really wanted to do was to be less involved in the day-to-day running of the theatre and to return to teaching. And I was extremely lucky, because in that first season, I directed Stephen Wadsworth’s translation and adaptation of The Triumph of Love. And so, with the graciousness of Nick and the Board, I was asked to take on the role of Artistic Director. Now, I’d been working throughout the country doing classic work, most especially at the Guthrie Theatre, and had spent eight years assisting an incredible slew of directors that I still can’t believe I actually got to work with. These were people such Mark Lamos, Liviu Ciulei, Lee Breuer, John Houseman, Michael Kahn, Alan Schneider, Lucian Pintilie, JoAnne Akalaitis, Garland Wright. They all had a strong point of view when it came to doing the classics. So what I brought with me was a desire for a national perspective that involved national artists. It was clear to me that Court needed a jolt of artistic and creative energy. And so, in 1997, I was able to ask JoAnne Akalaitis to direct Nick Rudall’s translation of The Iphigenia Cycle. And that started a more provocative and challenging approach to classic work.  Concurrent to that was a desire to elevate the quality of the staff that is here. And then, jumping ahead to 2003, together with the board and the university, we had this outrageously audacious idea that Court Theatre could become the national center for classic theatre. And who the hell are we to say that? But it has been a very animating and very inspirational and daunting vision to put forth for ourselves.

DP: Some of the recent translations and adaptations that have been produced at your theatre include Richard Nelson’s adaptation of The Wild Duck, SITI Company’s adaptation of Radio MacBeth, Lee Breuer’s adaptation of Mabou Mines’s DollHouse, Mickle Maher’s translation of Cyrano, and your own adaptation of Titus Andronicus.  What has been your experience with these undertakings? What’s been positive or negative?

CN: Here’s a story. I had commissioned Richard Nelson to do a new translation of The Wild Duck. And he was with us late in previews while we were all struggling with the end of the play. And Richard said, “Look, Charlie, I’ve already translated it the way I want to translate it, but clearly the geography of my text is not fitting the geography of your production. My geography is traditional, but yours is different. And I want to adapt my text to serve your production better.” Which, to me, was the most wonderful collaboration I could have had because, as I’m fond of saying, I usually work with dead playwrights, and they always agree with me. But for Richard, as a living playwright, to engage in such a generous way was thrilling, much more so than my imagined conversations with Moliere.

I think one of the challenges for classic theatre is that often, after ten or fifteen or 20 years, the translations start to get a little foreign. So we need to revive the classics and the classic translations with contemporary playwrights.

DP: And so for playwrights who are not Richard Nelson, both local and nationally, what doors might be open to them at your theatre regarding adaptations or translations or new ways of looking at the classics?

CN: Well, thanks to the truly visionary, philanthropic leadership of our dear friend, Barbara Franke, we now have the resources to commission new texts. Richard’s translation of The Wild Duck is the most conspicuous result of this program. But we also have a number of different projects in different phases of commissioning. The answer to your question, I think, is to look at the work that Court Theatre has done, look at our aesthetic, look at the artists that we have worked with, and, if you have an idea that you’re passionate about that is an adaptation or a translation of a classic text or idea or theme, we’re interested. We also have more ideas than we can ever possibly produce. I’ve got a bunch of ideas about texts that I want to have adapted or translated, but what I don’t know enough about is who is a good match for that idea. And so that also means that I need to be educated. What is your passion? What is your artistry? Don’t assume we know anything about what makes sense for you or what your work is. We also now have a Resident Dramaturg. His name is Drew Dir. He’s here as part of a joint appointment between the University of Chicago and Court Theatre.

DP: So, simple nuts and bolts. Somebody has an idea, and they don’t have a relationship with you or Drew or anyone at your theatre, what is the best way for them to approach you?

CN: Well, right or wrong, it’s rare that I will spend time with anything that’s unsolicited, so, right now, letters of inquiry are really the best way to go. I’m almost sure that we don’t have enough of a network with playwrights in Chicago, which, of course, sounds ridiculous considering how many talented playwrights live here and how much new work is happening. But, unfortunately, it’s an issue of staff capacity. If there’s a project going on with a playwright involved who seems to be a good match for what we do, we want to know. There’s a great way to be persistent without being a pain in the ass. 

DP: And it’s a fine line.

CN: It’s an extremely fine line. 

DP: You don’t have a literary department right now.

CN: We do not. But another way to get our attention is through a director. We’re constantly looking for directors, and playwrights who have an existing relationship with a director can often find themselves in our mix. The same can be said of designers. I recently had one of our regular designers contact me about a playwright he had worked with. And he said, emphatically, “Charlie, there’s this playwright. She’s really interesting. You’ve got to check her out.” And I said I would. So, it’s as simple as that.  And as hard as that. But I do look to all these people for great ideas and for great writers.

Douglas Post
dpost@dramatistsguild.com

Lisa’s plays, which include The Walls, Detail of a Larger Work, Half of Plenty, Flung, Six Postcards, Rock Shore and Ground: A Play about Borders, have been produced and developed at such theatres as American Theatre Company, Goodman New Stages Festival, Hypothetical Theatre Company, the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Rogue Machine Theatre Company, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.  She has won the Sprenger-Lang New History Play Prize, the Sarett Award, and the Julie Harris-Beverly Hills Theatre Guild Award.  She has also received two commissions from Steppenwolf, two fellowships from the Illinois Arts Council, and has had her work published by Dramatic Publishing, Smith & Kraus, Heinemann and New Issues Press.

“I’ll share an experience that ended up being transformational for me,” says Lisa,  “One that really illustrates why I love Chicago theatre.  In 2005, Tara Mallen commissioned me to write a play for her company, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble.  The idea was that I would use ensemble members to create a play about women and mental illness throughout history.  We began the process with a title — The Walls – but not one word of written dialogue.  The actors, director, and I then took part in workshops over the next four years, during which time we collected and dissected contemporary and historical research on women treated and/or incarcerated for mental and emotional disorders.  We shared personal impressions and experiences as well.  The process involved little money but a great deal of time, trust, and commitment from all concerned.  Over the course of the play’s development, we all had other projects, but we always came back to The Walls with renewed passion.  The actors here are so generous.  They’re gutsy and big-hearted.  And working on The Walls I felt the strongest sense I’ve ever had of being deeply connected to a community of artists.  In spring 2009, Rivendell was invited to produce The Walls as part of Steppenwolf Theatre’s Visiting Company Initiative.  The play premiered at their Garage Theatre and has been nominated for a Jeff Award for Outstanding New Work.  So that’s another fabulous component of the community here.  We have large, well-established theatres that often throw their support behind smaller companies.”

dpost@dramatistsguild.com

Paul Libman and Dave Hudson are the first creative team to ever win the annual Richard Rodgers Development Award for New Musicals for two separate shows.  They are also one of the few teams to win this award without any presence in New York or connections to this city.  They did it all from Chicago, with Paul composing the scores and Dave contributing book and lyrics.

The two men began working together in 2002, right after Paul left a successful advertising jingle career for, as he puts it, “The much more lucrative and reliable world of musical theatre.”  Less than three months later, they landed their first professional contract with American Folklore Theatre, where their initial collaboration, Muskie Love, played for two summers.  In 2004 they created Dust and Dreams, which won the 2005 Richard Rodgers Award and was also presented at Chicago’s Stages Festival of New Musicals.  Their next effort, Main-Travelled Roads, was selected for the 2006 Stages Festival, was featured twice in the Madison Rep’s Festival of New Plays, and was the winner of the 2007 Richard Rodgers Award.  Produced at AFT in the fall of 2007, this show was presented at the New York Barrow Street Theatre in March 2008.  Paul and Dave’s musical, A Cabin with a View, was commissioned by AFT and played to full houses there in the summers of 2007 and 2008.  Their latest show, Cheeseheads, the Musical, is slated to play at AFT this summer.

Their experiences at these institutions in the Midwest and New York have all been different, but each was helpful in terms of the development of their work.  “Theatre Building Chicago utilizes non-Equity Chicago actors who are generally good is sort of a M.A.S.H. unit of musical theatre,” says Dave.  “The focus is simply to get the show up and see what’s there as quickly and efficiently as possible.  In Wisconsin, AFT has what amounts to a resident company, so we have the joy of working with actors we know and writing characters for them.  The biggest thing AFT gives us is productions.  We’ve learned that nothing helps one learn this craft like the pressure-cooker of getting a show ready for a real, paying audience.  In New York, the stunning aspect is the depth of talent.  You know your work will be seen in the best light possible, even in a staged reading.”

Paul believes that the main themes in their shows involve optimism, sincerity and emotion.  “We’re not fond of ironic and self-referential work,” he states.  “We like to come straight at the audience to create the greatest emotional impact.  We also like tuneful, concise songs.  Most of our songs are in the two to two and a half minute range.”

And even though Paul has recently moved to Brooklyn, and Dave still lives in Chicago, both men claim their working relationship hasn’t changed a bit.  “We’ve always collaborated via e-mail,” explains Paul, “Even when Dave’s office was two blocks from my apartment.”

dpost@dramatistsguild.com

“What does it means to be an American?” This is the pivotal question that PJ Paparelli wants playwrights, lyricists and composers to contemplate as they work on their new plays and musicals under the auspices of American Theater Company, an ensemble of theatre artists committed to producing new and classic American stories for the American stage.
Since accepting the post of Artistic Director of this enterprising institution in 2007, PJ has put together an impressive new plays program, anchored by his Literary Circle, a group composed of professional artists from his ensemble, his staff and the theatre community of Chicago.  “The purpose of the Literary Circle is to establish relationships with playwrights who are interested in asking visceral questions about the American identity in their work,” states PJ, whose very specific mission is being supported by a sizable grant from the NEA, which allows the company to offer workshops and commissions. Some of these workshops currently include new work from Craig Lucas, Bill Pullman, Eduardo Machado, Kristopher Diaz, Joe Sutton, Laura Eason, and the team of Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor. The Chicago Pipeline program offers three Chicago-based playwrights a series of writing and workshop opportunities over the course of a season. And The New Deal is a national playwriting contest, which is open to unpublished and unproduced writers. The winner, whose script is selected by ATC co-founder Rick Cleveland, receives a cash prize and a workshop at the theatre. In addition, ATC’s Big Shoulders Festival allows Chicago writers the opportunity to explore their hometown in short ten minute plays, produced in an annual showcase. And, if all this wasn’t enough, PJ’s company now has a unique partnership with The Juilliard School’s Playwriting Program headed by Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang.  “Every year Marsha and Chris send our Literary Circle a play from each of their student playwrights,” explains PJ. “The Circle picks one playwright to receive two consecutive workshops: one at Juilliard with student and alumni actors, and one at ATC with members of our Ensemble.  The purpose is to apply the discoveries made at the end of the first workshop to a second workshop soon after.”
Dramatists who are interested in having their work considered by ATC, or applying for one of its many programs, can either send a script through their agent or submit directly to Public Works or the Big Shoulders Festival. “Here’s ATC’s charge to playwrights, lyricists and composers,” says PJ, “Their play, or musicals, has to break new ground, define innovation, and ask a profound question about America.  It can’t feel like a stretch. It’s got to nail it on the head.”
(Rep’s note: At the time that this magazine went to press, 23 ensemble members had decided to resign from American Theater Company and intend to form, or reform, under their original name, which is American Blues Theater.  PJ and those that remain at ATC plan to solider on without them.  We wish both theatre companies the best of luck in their artistic endeavors.)

dpost@dramatistsguild.com